Equipment management system, programmable controller and centralized controller

ABSTRACT

A centralized controller  2  controls facility equipment  3   a  and  3   b  according to a sequence control program corresponding to standard functions of the facility equipment  3   a  and  3   b . In addition, the centralized controller  2  receives control information for controlling a unique function of the facility equipment  3   a  and  3   b  and a PIN code, which are transmitted from a programmable controller  1 , and transmits, if the PIN code is a valid code, the control information to the facility equipment  3   a  and  3   b.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an equipment management system forcarrying out maintenance, management, control and service of facilityequipment such as air conditioners and refrigerators used formultipurpose facilities such as buildings and stores, and to aprogrammable controller and a centralized controller constituting theequipment management system.

BACKGROUND ART

As for a conventional equipment management system, a facility equipmentmaker manufacturing facility equipment such as air conditioners andrefrigerators, for example, develops centralized controllers formanaging the facility equipment independently, and has the centralizedcontrollers perform all the control necessary for the facility equipment(see Patent Document 1, for example).

Accordingly, the centralized controller must be equipped not only with asequence control program corresponding to the standard functions of thefacility equipment, but also with a sequence control programcorresponding to a unique function of the facility equipment.

Since the sequence control program corresponding to the unique functionof the facility equipment varies according to the unique function of thefacility equipment, it is necessary to revise an existing sequencecontrol program or to develop a new sequence control program inaccordance with the unique function of the facility equipment.

However, since the sequence control program installed in the centralizedcontroller is generally written with a special program language suitablefor control, operation and the like, it is difficult for those otherthan engineers having a thorough knowledge of the program language torevise or develop it.

Thus, considering a development period or development costs of theprogram, it is difficult for the centralized controller to always copewith the unique functions of the facility equipment.

Besides the foregoing equipment management system, a system is developedwhich handles all the control necessary for the facility equipment witha programmable controller (see Patent Document 2, for example).

A sequence control program installed in the programmable controller hasan advantage over the sequence control program installed in thecentralized controller in that a user can create or revise it easilywithout knowledge of the program language.

However, since the program volume of the sequence control programexpands to achieve fine control of the facility equipment with theprogrammable controller, it is necessary to prepare an expensiveprogrammable controller, which makes it difficult to construct aninexpensive equipment management system.

Incidentally, since ordinary equipment suppliers who create sequencecontrol programs and cope with individual apparatuses have usuallylittle technical knowledge about specific facility equipment (such asair conditioners), it is difficult for them to realize the fine controlof the facility equipment with the programmable controller.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-257297/1997(Paragraphs [0025] to [0026], and FIG. 2).

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-197662 (Paragraph[0025], and FIG. 1).

With the foregoing configurations, the conventional equipment managementsystems have problems in that they have difficulty in coping with theunique functions of the facility equipment with the centralizedcontroller, and that if they try to perform the fine control of thefacility equipment with the programmable controller, they must preparean expensive programmable controller because of the great program volumeof the sequence control program.

The present invention is implemented to solve the foregoing problems.Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide anequipment management system capable of coping with the unique functionsof the facility equipment easily without using the expensiveprogrammable controller.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a programmablecontroller and centralized controller applicable to the equipmentmanagement system capable of coping with the unique functions of thefacility equipment easily.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An equipment management system in accordance with the present inventionis configured in such a manner that the centralized controller controlsfacility equipment according to a control program corresponding tostandard functions of the facility equipment, and that the centralizedcontroller receives control information for controlling a uniquefunction of the facility equipment and a PIN code, which are transmittedfrom a programmable controller, and transmits, if the PIN code is avalid code, the control information to the facility equipment.

This offers an advantage of being able to cope with the unique functionof the facility equipment easily without using an expensive programmablecontroller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an equipmentmanagement system of an embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing schematic operation of the equipmentmanagement system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining physical distribution of theequipment management system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing contents of the equipmentmanagement system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing contents of the equipmentmanagement system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an equipmentmanagement system of an embodiment 2 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing schematic operation of the equipmentmanagement system of the embodiment 2 in accordance with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining physical distribution of theequipment management system of an embodiment 3 in accordance with thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The best mode for carrying out the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings to explain the present inventionin more detail.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an equipmentmanagement system of an embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention. In FIG. 1, a programmable controller 1 accepts a sequencecontrol program corresponding to a unique function of facility equipment3 a and 3 b and the setting of a PIN (Personal Identity Number) codewhich is an identification code; generates control information of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b by executing the sequence controlprogram; and executes processing such as outputting the controlinformation and PIN code of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to acentralized controller 2.

The centralized controller 2 is connected to the programmable controller1 via a transmission line 6 and to the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bvia a transmission line 7. The centralized controller 2 controls thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b according to the sequence control programcorresponding to the standard functions of the facility equipment 3 aand 3 b; receives the control information and PIN code transmitted fromthe programmable controller 1 via the transmission line 6; and executes,if the PIN code is a valid code, processing such as transmitting thecontrol information to the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b via thetransmission line 7.

A program/code setting unit 4 carries out processing of setting thesequence control program corresponding to the unique function of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b and the PIN code to the programmablecontroller 1.

An individual identification number setting unit 5 carries outprocessing of setting the individual identification number (such as themanufacturer's serial number) of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b tothe centralized controller 2.

A sequence control program storage section 11 of the programmablecontroller 1 is a memory that accepts the setting processing of thesequence control program by the program/code setting unit 4, and storesthe sequence control program corresponding to the unique function of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b.

A PIN code storage section 12 of the programmable controller 1 is amemory that accepts the setting processing of the PIN code by theprogram/code setting unit 4 and stores the PIN code.

Here, the sequence control program storage section 11 and the PIN codestorage section 12 constitute a storage means.

A control information generating section 13 of the programmablecontroller 1, which is composed of a processing unit such as a CPU,executes the sequence control program stored in the sequence controlprogram storage section 11, generates the control information for thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b, and carries out processing of outputtingthe control information and the PIN code stored in the PIN code storagesection 12 to a communication processing section 14. Here, the controlinformation generating section 13 constitutes a control informationgenerating means.

The communication processing section 14 of the programmable controller1, which has a communication interface with the transmission line 6,carries out processing such as transmitting the control information forthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b and the PIN code output from thecontrol information generating section 13 to the centralized controller2, and receiving the state information about the facility equipment 3 aand 3 b transmitted from the centralized controller 2. Here, thecommunication processing section 14 constitutes a communication means.

A sequence control program storage section 21 of the centralizedcontroller 2 is a memory that stores the sequence control programcorresponding to the standard functions of the facility equipment 3 aand 3 b.

A control information generating section 22 of the centralizedcontroller 2, which is composed of a processing unit such as a CPU,carries out processing such as generating the control information forthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b by executing the sequence controlprogram stored in the sequence control program storage section 21, andoutputting the control information to a communication processing section27. Here, the control information generating section 22 constitutes afacility equipment control means.

A communication processing section 23 of the centralized controller 2,which has a communication interface with the transmission line 6,carries out processing such as receiving the control information for thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b and the PIN code transmitted from theprogrammable controller 1, and transmitting the state information aboutthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the programmable controller 1.Here, the communication processing section 23 constitutes a receivingmeans.

An individual identification number storage section 24 of thecentralized controller 2 is a memory for accepting the setting of theindividual identification number of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bby the individual identification number setting unit 5, and for storingthe individual identification number.

A PIN code calculating section 25 of the centralized controller 2carries out processing of calculating the PIN code from the individualidentification number stored in the individual identification numberstorage section 24.

A PIN code matching decision section 26 of the centralized controller 2,which is composed of a processing unit such as a CPU, carries outprocessing such as comparing the PIN code calculated by the PIN codecalculating section 25 with the PIN code received by the communicationprocessing section 23, authenticating, if they agree, that the PIN codereceived by the communication processing section 23 is a valid code,outputting the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3b received by the communication processing section 23 to thecommunication processing section 27, and outputting the stateinformation about the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b received by thecommunication processing section 27 to the communication processingsection 23.

Here, the individual identification number storage section 24, PIN codecalculating section 25 and PIN code matching decision section 26constitute a decision means.

The communication processing section 27 of the centralized controller 2,which has a communication interface with the transmission line 7,carries out processing of transmitting to the facility equipment 3 a and3 b the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 boutput from the PIN code matching decision section 26 (controlinformation for controlling the unique function of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b), and the control information for the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b output from the control information generatingsection 22 (control information for controlling the standard functionsof the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b); and processing of receiving thestate information from the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, andoutputting the state information to the PIN code matching decisionsection 26 and the control information generating section 22. Here, thecommunication processing section 27 constitutes a transmitting means.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing schematic operation of the equipmentmanagement system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with the presentinvention; and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining physical distributionof the equipment management system of the embodiment 1 in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are flowcharts showing processing contents of theequipment management system of the embodiment 1 in accordance with thepresent invention.

Next, the operation will be described.

When shipping the centralized controller 2, for example, the facilityequipment maker connects the centralized controller 2 with theindividual identification number setting unit 5 (step ST1).

In the example of FIG. 1, the individual identification number settingunit 5 is connected to the individual identification number storagesection 24 of the centralized controller 2. However, the individualidentification number storage section 24 can be connected to thetransmission line 6 so that the individual identification number storagesection 24 of the centralized controller 2 is connected with theindividual identification number setting unit 5 via the communicationprocessing section 23.

When the individual identification number setting unit 5 is connected tothe centralized controller 2, it carries out the processing of settingthe individual identification number (such as the manufacturer's serialnumber) of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the centralizedcontroller 2 (step ST2).

Thus, the individual identification number storage section 24 of thecentralized controller 2 accepts the setting of the individualidentification number of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b by theindividual identification number setting unit 5, and stores theindividual identification number of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b(step ST3).

When the individual identification number is stored in the individualidentification number storage section 24, the PIN code calculatingsection 25 of the centralized controller 2 calculates the PIN code thatis determined uniquely from the individual identification number (stepST4).

As for the PIN code, it is obtained by substituting the individualidentification number into the following PIN converting formula, whichis not open to a dealer of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b.

PIN code=PIN converting formula[individual identification number]

After ending the setting of the individual identification number of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the centralized controller 2, theindividual identification number setting unit 5 is removed from thecentralized controller 2.

When receiving an order contract or the like for the facility equipment3 a and 3 b from a customer, for example, a dealer purchases the PINcode from the facility equipment maker as shown in FIG. 3, and acquiresthe sequence control program corresponding to the standard functions ofthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b from the facility equipment maker(step ST11).

When acquiring the sequence control program corresponding to thestandard functions of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b from thefacility equipment maker, the dealer makes a revision of the sequencecontrol program in such a manner as to fulfill the unique function ofthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b the customer requires (step ST12).

Although an example is described here which develops the sequencecontrol program corresponding to the unique function of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b by making a revision of the sequence controlprogram corresponding to the standard functions of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b, it is also possible for the dealer to operate theprogram/code setting unit 4 (or the programmable controller 1) todevelop the sequence control program corresponding to the uniquefunction of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b.

Having developed the sequence control program corresponding to theunique function of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, the dealerconnects the program/code setting unit 4 to the programmable controller1 (step ST13).

Although the program/code setting unit 4 is connected to the sequencecontrol program storage section 11 and PIN code storage section 12 ofthe programmable controller 1 in the example of FIG. 1, anotherconfiguration is also possible in which the program/code setting unit 4is connected to the transmission line 6 so that the program/code settingunit 4 is connected to the sequence control program storage section 11and PIN code storage section 12 of the programmable controller 1 via thecommunication processing section 14.

When connected to the programmable controller 1, the program/codesetting unit 4 carries out the processing of setting the sequencecontrol program corresponding to the unique function of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b and the PIN code to the programmable controller 1.

Thus, the sequence control program storage section 11 of theprogrammable controller 1 accepts the setting of the sequence controlprogram corresponding to the unique function by the program/code settingunit 4, and stores the sequence control program.

In addition, the PIN code storage section 12 of the programmablecontroller 1 accepts the setting of the PIN code by the program/codesetting unit 4, and stores the PIN code (step ST14).

After the setting of the sequence control program and the PIN code tothe programmable controller 1 has been completed, the program/codesetting unit 4 is removed from the programmable controller 1, and theprogrammable controller 1 is connected to the centralized controller 2via the transmission line 6 (step ST15).

If the control information generating section 13 of the programmablecontroller 1 detects the connection of the communication processingsection 14 to the centralized controller 2, it supplies the PIN codestored in the PIN code storage section 12 to the communicationprocessing section 14.

Receiving the PIN code from the control information generating section13, the communication processing section 14 of the programmablecontroller 1 transmits the PIN code to the centralized controller 2 viathe transmission line 6.

Receiving the PIN code transmitted from the programmable controller 1,the communication processing section 23 of the centralized controller 2outputs the PIN code to the PIN code matching decision section 26.

Receiving the PIN code transmitted from the programmable controller 1,the PIN code matching decision section 26 of the centralized controller2 compares the PIN code with the PIN code calculated by the PIN codecalculating section 25 (step ST16).

If the two PIN codes match, the PIN code matching decision section 26 ofthe centralized controller 2 authenticates that the PIN code transmittedfrom the programmable controller 1 is a valid code, and transmits acontrol enabling signal, which authorizes the control of the uniquefunction of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, to the programmablecontroller 1 via the communication processing section 23 (step ST17).

In addition, when the communication processing section 27 receives thestate information about the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, the PIN codematching decision section 26 transmits the state information about thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the programmable controller 1 via thecommunication processing section 23.

Unless the two PIN codes match, the PIN code matching decision section26 of the centralized controller 2 concludes that the PIN codetransmitted from the programmable controller 1 is an invalid code, andtransmits a control disabling signal, which inhibits the control of theunique function of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, to theprogrammable controller 1 via the communication processing section 23(step ST19).

If the communication processing section 14 receives the controldisabling signal from the programmable controller 1, the controlinformation generating section 13 of the programmable controller 1terminates the series of the processing. This is because even if ittransmits the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bto the centralized controller 2, the control information is notaccepted.

If the communication processing section 14 receives the control enablingsignal from the programmable controller 1, the control informationgenerating section 13 of the programmable controller 1 executes thesequence control program stored in the sequence control program storagesection 11 (the sequence control program corresponding to the uniquefunction of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b), and generates thecontrol information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b.

In the course of this, if the communication processing section 14receives the state information about the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bfrom the programmable controller 1, the control information generatingsection 13 generates the control information for the facility equipment3 a and 3 b while taking the state information into consideration.

When the control information generating section 13 generates the controlinformation for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, the communicationprocessing section 14 of the programmable controller 1 transmits thecontrol information to the centralized controller 2.

Receiving the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b(control information for controlling the unique function of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b) transmitted from the programmable controller 1,the communication processing section 23 of the centralized controller 2outputs the control information to the PIN code matching decisionsection 26.

Unless it authenticates the PIN code as a valid code, the PIN codematching decision section 26 of the centralized controller 2 discardsthe control information even though it receives the control informationfor the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b from the communication processingsection 23. In contrast, when it authenticates the PIN code as a validcode, it outputs the control information to the communication processingsection 27 when it receives the control information for the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b from the communication processing section 23.

The control information generating section 22 of the centralizedcontroller 2 executes the sequence control program stored in thesequence control program storage section 21 (sequence control programcorresponding to the standard functions of the facility equipment 3 aand 3 b) to generate the control information for the facility equipment3 a and 3 b, and outputs the control information to the communicationprocessing section 27.

In the course of this, if the communication processing section 27receives the state information about the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b,the control information generating section 22 generates the controlinformation for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b while considering thestate information.

Receiving the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bfrom the PIN code matching decision section 26 (control information forcontrolling the unique function of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b),the communication processing section 27 of the centralized controller 2transmits the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bto the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to control the unique function ofthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b (step ST18).

In addition, receiving the control information for the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b from the control information generating section 22(control information for controlling the standard functions of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b), the communication processing section 27of the centralized controller 2 transmits the control information forthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the facility equipment 3 a and 3 bto control the standard functions of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b.

Receiving the state information from the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b,the communication processing section 27 of the centralized controller 2outputs the state information to the PIN code matching decision section26 and control information generating section 22.

As is clear from the foregoing description, the present embodiment 1 isconfigured in such a manner that the centralized controller 2 controlsthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b according to the sequence controlprogram corresponding to the standard functions of the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b, and that the centralized controller 2 receivesthe control information for controlling the unique function of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b and the PIN code, which are transmittedfrom the programmable controller 1, and transmits, if the PIN code is avalid code, the control information to the facility equipment 3 a and 3b. Thus, it offers an advantage of being able to cope with the uniquefunction of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b easily without using anexpensive programmable controller.

More specifically, since the control is divided in such a manner thatthe centralized controller 2 handles the control of the standardfunctions of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b and the programmablecontroller 1 deals with the control of the unique function of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b, it is enough to develop only thesequence control program corresponding to the unique function of thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b for the programmable controller 1, and toinstall the sequence control program into the inexpensive, smallcapacity programmable controller 1. This offers an advantage of beingable to realize the equipment management system at a low cost.

In addition, according to the present embodiment 1, to carry out thecontrol of the unique function of the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b bythe programmable controller 1, since the dealer has to purchase the PINcode for each centralized controller 2 from the facility equipmentmaker, the facility equipment maker can earn the development costs ofthe sequence control program offered to the dealer without fail.Furthermore, unauthorized copy of the sequence control program is voidso that the cost becomes proportional to the volume of sales, whichoffers an advantage of facilitating the payment. As for the uniquefunction of the facility equipment connected, unless it has the validPIN code, it is excluded from the system by the PIN code. Thus, itbecomes possible to prevent an unauthorized equipment program frommaking access to the system, and to prevent the facility from carryingout unnecessary equipment operation as a whole, and by extension toachieve stable freezing/air conditioning management.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an equipmentmanagement system of an embodiment 2 in accordance with the presentinvention; and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing schematic operation of theequipment management system of the embodiment 2 in accordance with thepresent invention.

In these figures, the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 1designate the same or like portions, and hence their description will beomitted here.

General-purpose equipment 8, which is a general-purpose apparatus (suchas an air conditioner and refrigerator) the facility equipment maker ofthe facility equipment 3 a and 3 b does not produce, is connected to thecentralized controller 2 via the transmission line 7.

In the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that the general-purposeequipment 8 has a communication processing section for receiving thecontrol information transferred from the centralized controller 2, andoperates according to the control information received by thecommunication processing section. However, it is also possible to insertbefore the general-purpose equipment 8 a general-purpose equipmentcontroller that has a communication processing section for receiving thecontrol information transferred from the centralized controller 2, and acontrol section for controlling the general-purpose equipment 8according to the control information received by the communicationprocessing section.

A general-purpose equipment program storage section 15 of theprogrammable controller 1 is a memory that accepts the settingprocessing of the sequence control program by the program/code settingunit 4, and stores the sequence control program of the general-purposeequipment 8. Here, the general-purpose equipment program storage section15 constitutes a storage means.

In the example of FIG. 6, although the general-purpose equipment programstorage section 15 accepts the setting processing by the program/codesetting unit 4, and stores the sequence control program of thegeneral-purpose equipment 8, it can also store the sequence controlprogram of the general-purpose equipment 8 in advance without thesetting processing by the program/code setting unit 4.

A control information generating section 16 of the programmablecontroller 1, which is composed of a processing unit such as a CPU,carries out the processing of generating not only the controlinformation for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b by executing thesequence control program stored in the sequence control program storagesection 11 in the same manner as the control information generatingsection 13 in FIG. 1, but also the control information for thegeneral-purpose equipment 8 by executing the sequence control programstored in the general-purpose equipment program storage section 15; andthe processing of outputting the control information for the facilityequipment 3 a and 3 b and for the general-purpose equipment 8 and thePIN code stored in the PIN code storage section 12 to the communicationprocessing section 14. Here, the control information generating section16 constitutes a control information generating means.

When the communication processing section 23 receives the controlinformation for the general-purpose equipment 8 from the programmablecontroller 1, an information transfer processing section 28 of thecentralized controller 2 carries out processing of transferring thecontrol information for the general-purpose equipment 8 to thegeneral-purpose equipment 8 via the communication processing section 27.

However, another configuration is also possible in which the informationtransfer processing section 28 transfers the control information for thegeneral-purpose equipment 8 received from the communication processingsection 23 to the general-purpose equipment 8 only when the PIN codematching decision section 26 authenticates that the PIN code transmittedfrom the programmable controller 1 is a valid code.

Here, the information transfer processing section 28 constitutes atransmitting means.

Next, the operation will be described.

Although the foregoing embodiment 1 is described by way of example inwhich the programmable controller 1 transmits the control informationfor the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b to the centralized controller 2,another configuration is also possible in which the control informationgenerating section 16 of the programmable controller 1 generates notonly the control information for the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, butalso the control information for the general-purpose equipment 8 byexecuting the sequence control program stored in the general-purposeequipment program storage section 15, and transmits the controlinformation for the general-purpose equipment 8 to the centralizedcontroller 2.

When the communication processing section 23 receives the controlinformation for the general-purpose equipment 8 from the programmablecontroller 1, the information transfer processing section 28 of thecentralized controller 2 transfers the control information for thegeneral-purpose equipment 8 to the general-purpose equipment 8 via thecommunication processing section 27 without performing any specialprocessing, thereby carrying out the control of the general-purposeequipment 8.

However, the information transfer processing section 28 can transfer thecontrol information for the general-purpose equipment 8 received by thecommunication processing section 23 to the general-purpose equipment 8only when the PIN code matching decision section 26 authenticates thatthe PIN code transmitted from the programmable controller 1 is a validcode in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiment 1.

As is clear from the foregoing description, the present embodiment 2 isconfigured in such a manner that the programmable controller 1 generatesthe control information for the general-purpose equipment 8 by executingthe control program of the general-purpose equipment 8, and transmitsthe control information for the general-purpose equipment 8 to thecentralized controller 2; and that the centralized controller 2transfers the control information transmitted from the programmablecontroller 1 to the general-purpose equipment 8. Thus, the presentembodiment 2 offers an advantage of being able to achieve the control ofthe general-purpose equipment 8 without increasing the storage capacityof the centralized controller 2 or the amount of processing thereof.

In addition, when the general-purpose equipment 8 is installed near thefacility equipment 3 a and 3 b, the programmable controller 1 and thegeneral-purpose equipment 8 can be connected directly by laying atransmission line between them, which offers an advantage of being ableto reduce construction costs.

Embodiment 3

As for the sequence control program corresponding to the unique functionof the facility equipment 3 a and 3 b, which is installed in theprogrammable controller 1, a description is made in the foregoingembodiments 1 and 2 that it is developed by revising the sequencecontrol program corresponding to the standard functions provided by thefacility equipment maker. However, as shown in FIG. 8, it is alsopossible for the facility equipment maker to purchase from the dealer asequence control program having a function applicable to other equipmentwithin the sequence control program corresponding to the unique functionwhich is revised and developed by the dealer.

Then the facility equipment maker can provide all the dealers with thesequence control program it purchases from the dealer as the sequencecontrol program corresponding to the standard functions. The facilityequipment maker can earn the buying cost of the sequence control programby means of the distribution cost of the PIN code.

According to the present embodiment 3, the facility equipment makerpurchases the sequence control program corresponding to the uniquefunction, which has been revised and developed by the dealer. Thus, itcan reduce the revision and development costs of the sequence controlprogram by the dealer.

In addition, the facility equipment maker can increase the versatilityof the sequence control program corresponding to the standard functionswithout developing the sequence control program of its own.

In addition, the facility equipment maker can earn the buying cost ofthe sequence control program by means of the distribution cost of thePIN code, thereby being able to prevent an increase in the load. Sincethe dealers are provided with a sequence control program correspondingto higher standard functions, they can reduce the development.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the equipment management system in accordance withthe present invention is suitable for a system that necessitatescontrolling not only the standard functions of the facility equipment,but also the unique function of the facility equipment.

1. An equipment management system comprising: a programmable controllerfor accepting a control program corresponding to a unique function offacility equipment and for accepting setting of an identification code,for generating control information for said facility equipment byexecuting the control program, and for transmitting the controlinformation for said facility equipment and the identification code; anda centralized controller for controlling said facility equipmentaccording to a control program corresponding to a standard function ofsaid facility equipment, for receiving the control information and theidentification code transmitted from said programmable controller, andfor transmitting, if the identification code is a valid code, thecontrol information to said facility equipment.
 2. The equipmentmanagement system according to claim 1, wherein said centralizedcontroller accepts setting of an individual identification number of thefacility equipment, calculates an identification code from theindividual identification number, and authenticates that theidentification code is a valid code if the identification code matchesthe identification code transmitted from said programmable controller.3. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein saidprogrammable controller generates control information forgeneral-purpose equipment by executing a control program of saidgeneral-purpose equipment, and transmits the control information forsaid general-purpose equipment to said centralized controller; and saidcentralized controller transfers the control information transmittedfrom said programmable controller to said general-purpose equipment. 4.The equipment management system according to claim 3, wherein saidcentralized controller transfers the control information transmittedfrom said programmable controller to said general-purpose equipment onlywhen the identification code transmitted from said programmablecontroller is a valid code.
 5. The equipment management system accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a program/code setting unit for settingthe control program corresponding to the unique function of saidfacility equipment and the identification code to said programmablecontroller.
 6. The equipment management system according to claim 2,further comprising: an individual identification number setting unit forsetting the individual identification number of said facility equipmentto said centralized controller.
 7. A programmable controller comprising:storage means for accepting a control program corresponding to a uniquefunction of facility equipment and for accepting setting of anidentification code, and for storing the control program and theidentification code; control information generating means for generatingcontrol information for said facility equipment by executing the controlprogram stored in said storage means; and communication means fortransmitting the control information for said facility equipmentgenerated by said control information generating means and theidentification code stored in said storage means to a centralizedcontroller.
 8. The programmable controller according to claim 7, whereinsaid control information generating means generates, when said storagemeans stores a control program of general-purpose equipment in additionto the control program corresponding to the unique function of saidfacility equipment, control information for said general-purposeequipment by executing the control program of said general-purposeequipment; and said communication means transmits the controlinformation for said general-purpose equipment, which is generated bysaid control information generating means, to said centralizedcontroller.
 9. A centralized controller comprising: facility equipmentcontrol means for controlling facility equipment according to a controlprogram corresponding to a standard function of said facility equipment;receiving means for receiving control information and an identificationcode, which are transmitted from a programmable controller; decisionmeans for making a decision as to whether the identification codereceived by said receiving means is a valid code or not; andtransmitting means for transmitting, when a decision result by saiddecision means indicates that the identification code is a valid code,the control information received by said receiving means to saidfacility equipment.
 10. The centralized controller according to claim 9,wherein said decision means accepts setting of an individualidentification number of the facility equipment, calculates anidentification code from the individual identification number, and makesa decision, when the identification code matches the identification codereceived by said receiving means, that the identification code is avalid code.
 11. The centralized controller according to claim 10,wherein said transmitting means transfers, when said receiving meansreceives control information for general-purpose equipment, which istransmitted from the programmable controller, the control information tosaid general-purpose equipment.
 12. The centralized controller accordingto claim 11, wherein said transmitting means transfers controlinformation received by said receiving means to said general-purposeequipment only when the decision result by said decision means indicatesthat the identification code is a valid code.